Spring is turtle season at Grundy Lake

Many Ontario Parks have their “signature” wildlife: commonly-encountered and charismatic animals that most park visitors hope to catch a glimpse of during their stay.

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park is named for the iconic Woodland Caribou.  Murphys Point Provincial Park is one of the best places to catch a glimpse of the elusive Gray Ratsnake. Rondeau Provincial Park is the place to see the rare Prothonotary Warbler.

But did you know Grundy Lake Provincial Park is the place to see a Blanding’s Turtle?

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Arrowhead staff say, “Hold the mustard!”

Garlic Mustard may sound like a gourmet condiment, but it’s actually an invasive species in North America, introduced from Europe over 100 years ago.

It is a major enemy in the ongoing battle to maintain biodiversity in Arrowhead Provincial Park and many other provincial parks. It’s considered one of Ontario’s greatest forest intruders.

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Here’s to another 125 years

As our 125th anniversary year comes to a close, we would like to say a huge thank you for an amazing year.

Now etched into our history, here’s a few of the highlights from this exciting year.

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When the sun goes down at Killarney

In today’s post, Biologist Intern Michelle Lawrence gives us an insider look at Killarney’s “nightlife,” and shares how staff are working to protect the park’s bat populations.

Killarney Provincial Park has been called “a crown jewel of the provincial parks system” by some, and it’s not hard to see why.

With white quartzite mountains and sparkling blue lakes, Killarney is truly a sight to behold. In Killarney’s wilderness, White Pine grow, live, and die; Moose munch on water lilies; and the forests and wetlands teem with warblers and other songbirds.

But when the sun goes down, not everyone in the park goes to sleep…

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Rolling out the red carpet at Pinery

Today’s story comes from Alistair MacKenzie, Natural Heritage Education and Resource Management Supervisor at Pinery Provincial Park.

I started out my career saving lives.  It was a hard job. Working conditions were awful. I was constantly being asked to bend and twist to what someone else needed me to do. I was dragged through the mud and poked with sticks, even burned with hot embers.

Despite these hardships, I loved aspects of the work, but eventually I just couldn’t keep up, and they pulled me back to base to run me through some tests. Sadly, I failed, and they unceremoniously stripped me of my field approvals and cast me aside.

I thought it was all over, until they boxed me up and shipped me to Pinery Provincial Park.

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A summer bioblitz at Lake Superior

Today’s post is brought to you by the natural heritage education staff at Lake Superior Provincial Park.

This past July, Lake Superior Provincial Park held a bioblitz in an effort to identify as many species as possible within the park boundaries. That is 160,810 ha of park land and water, abundant with life!

Our mission: to get to know our park, and teach park visitors how to be citizen scientists!

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Bioblitz at Murphys Point is fast approaching!

In celebration of Ontario Parks’ 125th anniversary, and with two practice runs for local schools already under their belt, the staff at Murphys Point Provincial Park are keen to invite members of the public to join them for their 2nd Annual Bioblitz on Saturday August 18.

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Summer bioblitzes at Algonquin

In honour of our 125th anniversary, our oldest provincial park, Algonquin, is hosting a bioblitz series!

Join park naturalists for weekly programs where you will learn how to identify and inventory different species, as well as the importance of citizen science in protecting the biodiversity of our parks.

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Local schools blitz Murphys Point

This post comes to us from Mark Read, Interpretive Naturalist at Murphys Point Provincial Park.

Last month, two local schools took part in a mini bioblitz at Murphys Point, using their outdoor skills to explore, discover, and identify the various wildlife of the park.

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